About the Fund
The Winter Park Live Oak Fund was created to assist the City of Winter Park with the daunting challenge of replacing the severely damaged and destroyed Laurel Oak and Water Oak trees located along City streets with more wind-resistant and longer lifespan Live Oaks.
The recent storm destruction totaled about 8,000 trees within City rights-of-way, which does not include tree losses in public parks or on private property. This catastrophic loss adds to the City's already significant annual tree replacement need of 2,000 to 3,000 trees.
The City Parks Department, as steward of our trees, has established a program to replace damaged and destroyed trees that will replace or introduce other species in addition to Live Oaks. However, the Winter Park Live Oak Fund program will fund only the purchase, planting and maintenance of Live Oaks. Given the City's current need for 10,000 to 11,000 trees, city planning officials estimate that about half of the new trees should be Live Oaks.
The City budgets $30,000 to $50,000 annually for tree replacement during normal years, and has increased the fiscal year 2004-2005 budget to $250,000. However, even this five-fold increase is less than five percent of the total funds needed to restore the tree canopy lost during 2004. Also, while the City owns its own tree farm and is committed to an aggressive tree replacement program, the combination of budgetary constraints and tree farming realities limit the city's current annual replacement capability to about 400 trees.
The cost to purchase, transport and plant one six-inch trunk diameter Live Oak, and maintain the tree for the first year, is about $1,500. Accordingly, the math is simple: We need to raise five to six million dollars to restore roughly 50 percent of the city's tree canopy with Live Oaks. And this goal does not include any allowance for future replacement of surviving trees (i.e., trees that were not damaged during the recent hurricanes).
With only 10,000 households and 25,000 residents, the City of Winter Park simply cannot raise the necessary funds through taxes alone. However, with a concerted campaign involving our citizens, corporations and local charitable organizations, all working together as partners to meet this challenge, we can renew and restore Winter Park's timeless beauty and environmental heritage.
Cooperative Partnerships
The City of Winter Park has enthusiastically endorsed this program. The Winter Park Live Oak Fund, Inc., a Florida nonprofit corporation, has entered into a formal written partnership agreement with the City covering such areas as:
- volunteer labor, to assist with installation and maintenance of new trees
- office space and telephone-answering support
- office supplies and printed materials
- advertising space opportunities to promote the Fund's goals via City newsletters
- availability of City property for advertising and poster display, including booth or kiosk space during the Saturday morning Winter Park Farmer's Market
- periodic direct mail, including postage
- an educational fund and program to help citizens of Winter Park gain an improved understanding of the many benefits a healthy Live Oak tree canopy within our community
The City of Winter Park is also moving forward with a program to relocate overhead power lines and other above-ground utilities, in order to prevent or substantially reduce both future devastation and indiscriminate trimming of our tree canopy.
The Community Foundation of Central Florida will administer all funds collected, monitor the work and expenditures of the Fund, and afford everyone who wishes to contribute to this worthwhile project the opportunity to make a fully tax-deductible investment in the future quality of life of our community.
Various school groups have also banded together with the Winter Park Live Oak Fund, to assist with a survey of all City of Winter Park streets to establish needs and locations for new Live Oak trees. The City Parks Department, together with Winter Park Live Oak Fund volunteers, plans to build a database of every tree and proposed tree location within the City's rights-of-ways. the database will allow maintenance personnel to track and schedule maintenance of trees in the future.
The law firm of Foley & Lardner has donated legal services in connection with formation of the new organization and the drafting of legal agreements with the City of Winter Park. And finally, citizens from all walks of life have banded together to form the nucleus and working arm of the Winter Park Live Oak Fund, dedicating valuable expertise, time, money and materials to ensure the success of the Winter Park Live Oak Fund.
The distinctive Winter Park Live Oak Fund logo was designed by David Weaver, art director of Sport Diver magazine. Sport Diver is published by Winter Park-based magazine publisher World Publications, which has provided a variety of graphic design, public relations and other services. Mr. Weaver’s logo design is based upon an original photographic image by noted photographer Ralph Clevenger. This Website was designed and written by, and is hosted and maintained by, 508 Interactive.
And finally, citizens from all walks of life have banded together to form the nucleus and working arm of this extraordinary endeavor, dedicating valuable expertise, time, money and materials to ensure the success of the Winter Park Live Oak Fund.
The Winter Park Live Oak Fund is a public-private partnership endorsed by the City of Winter Park.
©2004–2005 Winter Park Live Oak Fund, Inc., a Florida corporation. All rights reserved. Live Oak logo design by David Weaver, based upon an original image by noted photographer Ralph A. Clevenger.
Website design by